As you are likely aware, both houses of the Connecticut General Assembly Friday approved a budget proposal that threatens great harm to UConn and raises dire questions about the future of UConn Health.
In an email message to the University community--faculty, staff, students, alumni--UConn President Susan Herbst said the budget as proposed “would simply decimate the University.”
The implications for UConn Health are grave indeed. While Gov. Malloy has publicly declared he will veto it, this budget proposal is a troubling indication of the current mentality among some of our elected officials. (That said, we must acknowledge that we still have many allies at the Capitol who are working very hard to protect UConn Health.)
UHP leadership has been and will continue to be in touch with AFT Connecticut and AFT National (our state and national federations) to determine next steps. We also have reached out to leaders of other UConn bargaining units and University leadership.
While our focus is on the best interest of our membership, we acknowledge the prospective negative consequences of this budget go far beyond affecting just our local.
It’s important to realize, our contracts still stand, both the SEBAC labor savings agreement, through 2027, and the UHP contract, through 2021. Even this troublesome budget honors that.
Our allies at AFT Connecticut are analyzing the budget and are working to come up with a response strategy. This includes conversations with AFT National President Randi Weingarten and members of her staff who are well trained in having these fights.
Until we learn more, we are asking our members to be prepared to:
Write to Gov. Malloy’s office and urge him to veto this budget.
(AFT CT has a simple online tool for this.)Contact your state lawmakers and urge them to come up with a fair budget.
In the meantime, make sure we have your private email. This is the best way to stay informed and engaged. We may need to mobilize in the coming weeks, and the more members we can reach, the more effectively we can show our collective strength.
More to come, and in solidarity,
UHP Executive Committee
Bill Garrity, President
Ivonne Hamm, 1st VP for Collective Bargaining
Lucille Miller, Chief Steward
Michelle Proper, Treasurer
Laura Didden, Recording Secretary
Robin Washington Addison, VP for Political Activities
Ray Bennettson, VP for Tier I Employees
Doug Kingsbury, VP for Tier II Employees
|Shawn Brown, VP for Membership Activities
Trisha Faraday, VP for Community Outreach
Chris DeFrancesco, VP for Communication